The cell cycle is a vital process in which a parent cell divides into two or more daughter cells. In general, the cell cycle progression consists of four distinct phases: G1 phase, S phase, G2 phase, and mitosis. The mitosis is a part of the full life cycle of a cell in actively proliferating cells, resulting in the division of duplicated sets of chromosomes and two genetically identical daughter cells. Although mitosis phase is the shortest phase in cell cycle, mitosis orchestrates major changes in multiple cellular components. If the failure of cell cycle occurs, the failure of cell-cycle checkpoint regulations often results in aneuploidy and genetic instability, culminating in cell death or in cancer development. It has recently been suggested that determination of cell proliferation and its distinction from incomplete cell cycle progression is an important element in cell biology and regenerative medicine. However, current methods to monitor cell division in live cells, and to reliably distinguish between acytokinesis and endoreduplication, are limited and complicate determination of cell pool identities.
Therefore, there remains a need to develop methods for monitoring cell division. Similarly, there is a need for the development of a novel class of fluorescent probes useful for monitoring cell proliferation. These probes should be reliable and selective for visualizing cells in the mitosis phase of the cell cycle.